The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas-- this is the general foundation and guideline of the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, under Article XXI of the GATT (also known as the National Security Exception), member states can increase trade restrictions if it is done in the interest of national security. In 2018, Donald Trump put tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the US, claiming that this was done in the interest of national security (i.e. invoking Article XXI), and therefore allowed under WTO rules. China, Canada, the EU, and other nations have all filed cases against this policy in the WTO, while Saudi Arabia, India, and Russia have supported the US and have since used the "interest of national security" to raise trade barriers in their respective countries. After a three-year court ruling (from the WTO appellate), the WTO continued to uphold Article XXI